Our Wisdom Board

The Lowdown: Windows 10

The Aggressive New Tactic

May was a busy and controversial month for Microsoft: They introduced an aggressive tactic to transition users to their newest operating system, Windows 10. The upgrade may be welcomed by most businesses and at-home users; but for dental practices, it’s been a headache in the making.

Since Windows 10 was released in July 2015, Windows 7 and 8 users have received ongoing desktop messages inviting them to upgrade to Microsoft’s newest OS. A simple click of the red “X” in these upgrade prompts used to allow users to temporarily dodge the new operating system. However, along with May flowers came a new and much more aggressive Windows 10 upgrade tactic: Microsoft subtly changed their pop-up permissions to register “X” clicks as consent to initiate the new OS upgrade. From there, Windows 10 would begin automatically installing at any time without the user taking further action, or providing final approval.

Protecting Your Practice

While the tactic is being called sneaky by most, what’s the big deal about migrating to Windows 10 as it nears its first birthday? For dental practices, basic functionality of practice management software is at risk. Most dental practice software is not yet compatible with Windows 10, so upgrading almost always causes major issues once initiated. We have proactively disabled Windows 10 from automatically installing on our partnership clients’ systems, and have warned against manual upgrades.

In general, dental software tends to lag 2-3 years behind current software and OS releases. This is because it takes a significant amount of time for vendors to successfully beta test their products and ensure full functionality for the intended user. We always strongly advise confirming hardware and software compatibility before making any investments or committing to upgrades; and we are always here to help advise in these situations.

We will let you know once Windows 10 becomes compatible with dental practice management software. Until then, continue declining the Windows 10 upgrade to prevent downtime in your practice.